Half to eosto o



(No Model.)

' G. HEON.

DRAFT HOOK FOR VEHIGLES. No. 353,942. Patented Dec. 7, 1886.`

N4 PETERS4 Phaxo-mhngmpher, wuslmglon. D. c.

I IINTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE HEON, OF MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- IIALE TO ROSTO O. WOOD AND JULIA B. WOOD, BOTH OF SAME PLACE.

DRAFT-HOOK FOR VEHICLES.

ESPECFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 353.942, dated December 7, 1886.

Application filed August 19, 1&86. Serial No. 2l1,324.

To all whom il; may concern.-

(No model.)

The nut E is to be of steel or chilled iron,

Beit known that I. GEORGE HEON, of Man- I and its anterior surface will be providedwith chester, county of Hillsborough, and State of New Hampshire, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Dral't-Hooks for Ve'- hicles; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full and exact description thereof, to wit:

The nature of my invention consists in attaching to a T- brace above, below, or through the cross-bar, nearits junction with the thill, a hollow tube, within which is a spiral spring surrounuing the draw-bar, to which the tug or other connection to the harness is to be attached, thereby dispensing with the whitletree now in common use.

To enable others skilled in mtchanical art to make and use my invention, l will proceed to describe its construction and operation by reference to the drawings, in which- Figure l is a plan View, and Fig. 2 a sectional view. of my device.

A represents a T-braee, usually found applied at the junction ot' the cross bar with the thill of a sleigh or buggy.

B represents a tube, which may be cylindricalt or otherwise, capped at either' or both ends.

O is a spiral spring to be placed within the tube B, for purposes hereinafter explained.

D is a draw-bar provided with nut E posteriorly and a hook anteriorly, to which the tug is attached.

Place the spiral spring within the tube, and through which slide the draw-bar D, first passing it through the screwcap at a. Now place the nut E on the draw-bar posteriorly and the screw-cap on the tube, and it is ready to be fastened to the cross-bar of the carriage.

For convenience and cheapness ot' manu facture it is designed to have the tube B and T- brace A cast in one piece of malleable iron or other suitable material, for u'tility and durability.

rIhe spring O is used for evenness of tension of draft, and 'though a rubber spring may be substituted for the spiral, it is believed to be less practical for use with this device.

a cup-shaped iange, within which to receive the end ofthe spiral spring, thereby preventing the wear ol" the spring Within the barrel or tube. This will further be prevented hy allowing the draw-bar to exactly lill the space Within the spiral spring.

The combined draw bar with spring may be placed ina recess within or through the crossbar near its junction with the thill, either with or without the metallic tube, without materially changing the character of this invention for the purpose for which it is designed.

I am aware that tubular spring-cases are old, and that a tubular case containing spiral spring, with tug holder attached. has been devised and attached to a thill or end ot' a whiffletree for dralt purposes. In the one case the tubular case was fastened to a' thill and the tug attached to a hook working :in a slot anteriorly through the tube or case, and being in constan-t danger of being filled with mud or other substance to interfere with the free action of the spiral spring within. case the tubular case containing spiral spring with draw-bar was an attachment to a whii'etree, and increasing the weight and expense thereof without materially adding to its utility and practicability.

My invention evades every objection against the above-cited inventions, and I do not claim any such devices.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination of draw-bar D, nut E, spring C, tube A, and T-braee. substantially as herein described and set'torth.

2. rIhe combination of draw-bar D, nut E, spring C, tube A, and T- brace with the thills and cross bar of a vehicle, in the manner and for the purposes substantially as herein de' scribed. GEORGE HEON.

'Vitnesses:

R. O. VooD,

J oHN H. ANDREWS.

In the other 

